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Saturday, March 31, 2012

Yes, Walmart. There are four or five Walmarts in Cancun. Tourists can ride bus R27 to Walmart. It is clearly marked on the front of the bus that it goes to Walmart. You can't get lost. When you get on the bus ask they driver, if he goes to Walmart. He will verify if you are on the correct bus. He will take you to the true downtown Cancun area. This Walmart is located in a quiet, safe residential area. You will many locals and tourists shopping at Walmart. English is spoken at the store and by many locals, so not to worry about the language barrier.

Taco Sandwiches

Walmart is a great place to shop for bottled water, snacks, fruit, breakfast items, sandwiches, beer, wine and souvenirs. All the prices in the photos are listed in pesos. We made several visits to Walmart to save on our dining out budget. You can dine out once a day at nice restaurants and purchase groceries to cover breakfast and lunch. This is a perfect place to stock up if you are staying in a condo or timeshare with a fridge. Walmart is a great place to shop if you are accustomed to certain American foods or having a difficult time adjusting to authentic Mexican Cuisine. It is a great alternative to fast food restaurants. You can load up on groceries, then catch a taxi which is waiting outside the front door to take you back to the Cancun Hotel Zone. Tazis costs about 125 pesos from Walmart to the Hotel Zone. You should discuss the price of the taxi beforehand to prevent surprises. There is a Sam's Club next door to Walmart so take your Sam's Club card with you to Cancun, you can probably save more money with a family or large group.

Beach in Cancun

One day we went to Walmart to shop for fruit, bottled water, limes, sandwiches and salad to prepare our picnic for the beach. It was perfect to play in the ocean, relax on the beach, warm our bodies in the sun and graze on our lunch at our leisure.

What money savings tips do you use to save on dining out during vacation?

4) Senorita - Miss (It is a compliment to address older women as Senorita, it makes them feel younger.)

5) Por Favor - Please

6) Gracias - Thank you

7) Buenos Tardes - Good Afternoon

8) Buenos Noches - Good Night

9) de nada - your are welcome or it is nothing

10) Adios - Goodbye

Spangish is a combination of Spanish and English. It is a mixture of the two languages to describe someone's attempt at learning to speak Spanish. Do not fear your lack of ability to be able to carry on a full conversation in Spanish, locals will appreciate your attempt to say anything in Spanish. Basic common words of greetings or common courtesy words go a long way in making a pleasant memorable vacation. Even you learn and use only the word Hola or Hello, you will be received much better than if you just speak English.

One reader Ian, Baja By Bus made this comment on a previous post. ..."Secondly, please learn and be prepared to use at least a few words in Spanish. People will respond to you much better if you can at least say “hola”, “adios”, “por favor” and “gracias” when you need to. Imagine if a lost tourist came up to you in your home town and didn’t even say hello in English before asking for help. A little effort goes a long way…"

Ian, Baja By Bus

The Mexicans are very warm and friendly people. You should try saying "Hola" or Hello to everyone. It will make your vacation in Mexico more enjoyable, who knows maybe you will make a few new friends too?

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Xcaret Park describes itself as a water park but it is actually closer in description to an interactive open air museum. The visitor experiences 3,000 years of living Mexican History and Culture. Most open air museums have period actors dressed in costumes to lead tours of the history of the museum. Xcaret Park prides itself on authenticity. The Mayans are verified descendants of the Mayan lineage. The Mexican cuisine is authentic as well with dishes from various states and recipes that are centuries old. La Cocina Mexican Buffet at Xcaret allows visitors to feast upon a large selection of Traditional Mexican Cuisine that includes breads made from a 500 year-old recipe. Xcaret Park has its own corn patch from which corn tortillas are made fresh every morning. Xcaret Park is a true Eco-system with food being recycled for compost. Xcaret Park preserves and gives voice to the Mexican point of view of Mexico's Culture and History.

UNESCO states "Traditional Mexican cuisine is a comprehensive cultural model comprising farming, ritual practices, age-old skills, culinary techniques and ancestral community customs and manners. It is made possible by collective participation in the entire traditional food chain: from planting and harvesting to cooking and eating. The basis of the system is founded on corn, beans and chili; unique farming methods such as milpas (rotating swidden fields of corn and other crops) and chinampas (man-made farming islets in lake areas); cooking processes such as nixtamalization (lime-hulling maize, which increases its nutritional value); and singular utensils including grinding stones and stone mortars. Native ingredients such as varieties of tomatoes, squashes, avocados, cocoa and vanilla augment the basic staples. Mexican cuisine is elaborate and symbol-laden, with everyday tortillas and tamales, both made of corn, forming an integral part of Day of the Dead offerings. Collectives of female cooks and other practitioners devoted to raising crops and traditional cuisine are found in the State of Michoacán and across Mexico. Their knowledge and techniques express community identity, reinforce social bonds, and build stronger local, regional and national identities. Those efforts in Michoacán also underline the importance of traditional cuisine as a means of sustainable development."

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Yesterday, I received a call from my son in response to the article (Mexico: Chimamanda Adichie admits being guilty of “The danger of a single story”). I wrote questioning the State Department warning that Mexico is unsafe for travel. My son reminded me that I am a seasoned traveler who speaks Spanish, so I would feel comfortable traveling to Mexico. He proceeded to tell me stats of the drug cartel and deaths of Americans in Mexico. We had quite a lively debate for twenty minutes on the safety of Mexico as a country. His research stated that primarily the unsafe areas are in northern Mexico near the border towns. He defended his position and the State Dept.'s position by saying that 120 deaths of Americans is too many. I concur that death of one tourist is too many.

As flight crew members working flights to northern Mexico, security measures exist to safeguard pilots and flight attendants from being kidnapped. Airlines provide warnings to flight crew not to travel alone in certain areas of Mexico. During layovers to El Paso, Texas flight crews were warned by the airline not to cross into Juarez, Mexico a border city.

There is good reason for the warnings, especially for novice travelers. However, the State Department has modified the warning to include areas for which there are no travel advisories to Mexico.

Golf Cart on Isla Mujeres

These are a list of 12 popular tourist destinations that are safe for the novice traveler or any traveler to Mexico.

1. Cabo San Lucas

2. Oaxaca

3. Cancun

4. Playa del Carmen

5. Riveria Maya

6. Tulum

7. Merida

8. Chichen Itza

9. Chiapas

10. Campeche

11. Mexico City

12. Tabasco

Isla Mujeres Boat Trip

Now to put on my first time traveler hat. Here are five tips for the Novice Traveler to Mexico:

1. Contact a travel agent that specializes in Mexico who can share personal experiences and make recommendations for example Apple Vacations Reps are very knowledgable.

3. Sign up for Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) which a free service by the U.S. Government for U.S. citizens to register their contact information. It allows the U.S. Government to assist you in case of emergency.

The U.S. State Dept. says, "Millions of U.S. citizens safely visit Mexico each year for study, tourism, and business, including more than 150,000 who cross the border every day. The Mexican government makes a considerable effort to protect U.S. citizens and other visitors to major tourist destinations, and there is no evidence that Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) have targeted U.S. visitors and residents based on their nationality. Resort areas and tourist destinations in Mexico generally do not see the levels of drug-related violence and crime reported in the border region and in areas along major trafficking routes."

Monday, March 26, 2012

Chimamanda Adichie shares her visit to Mexico a few years ago. She states there were debates about immigration. In America, immigration becomes synonymous with Mexicans. There were endless stories of Mexicans as a people who were fleecing the healthcare system, sneaking across the border, and being arrested at the border.She remembers walking on her first day in Guadalajara, Mexico watching the people going to work, smoking, and laughing. She first felt a slight surprise, then she was overwhelmed with shame. She realized that she had been so immersed in the media coverage of Mexicans that they had become one thing in her mind. "The abject immigrant." She had bought into the single story of Mexicans and she could not have been more ashamed of herself.

"So that is how to create a single story, to show a people as one thing, as only one thing over and over again and that is what they become" said Chimamanda Adichie. According to her "it is impossible to talk about the single story without talking about power."

As I watched this video and listened to Chimamanda Adichie discuss her visit to Mexico I reflected upon the recent U.S. State Advisory warning on travel to Mexico. The media presents "a single story" of the entire country of Mexico as being unsafe. The media shows images of drug wars, kidnappings, robberies, and murders of tourist. Why is the media scaring the American public into believing that Mexico is unsafe? The media depicts Mexico as a poor country that all Mexicans desire to escape and live in the U.S.

As an expat who has lived in Venezuela, Argentina, Turkey, France and Belgium for six years, I have the advantage of watching and hearing news coverage in other countries as well as from other viewpoints. My language skills allow me to comprehend the news and truth in other languages. Living as an expat allowed me to see how the American media feeds the American public the same news over and over and over. Americans mistakenly believe that our news coverage is a comprehensive viewpoint of world news. It is quite to the contrary. It is the complete opposite.

When the opportunity presented itself to travel to Cancun, I considered the U.S. State Department warning on advising against travel to Mexico. I decided that if the Travel Channel is still filming a TV series in Cancun it must be safe. Besides I had met travel agents last year on one of my flights who told me how safe Mexico is as a tourist destination. The travel agents were not buying into the "single story" that Mexico is unsafe.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Our Isla Mujeres Day Trip included renting a golf cart for 350 pesos and driving it to the Turtle Farm. The admission to the Turtle Farm is about $3 US. Dani loves turtles. The Turtle Farm is not just for children. It actually has more creatures than turtles. There is a guide that gives an interactive presentation about all the sea creatures. There is an indoor aquarium area and outdoor pools filled with turtles. I wish we could have spent more time playing with the sea creatures.

Isla Mujeres offers swimming with the dolphins as well, but we ran out of time. So that is on our to do list for the next visit.

• Toll-free from the USA & Canada: 1-877-730-4054
• Or from the USA & Canada: 011-52-998-8488327
• From Europe and the rest of the world: 00-52-998-8488327
• From within Cancun: 8488327
• Dialing from the Riviera Maya & Cozumel: 01 98 848 8327

Monday, March 19, 2012

AquaWorld Cancun is located across the road from Marriott CasaMagna Hotel. When we first arrived in Cancun the weather was not the best. There was a cold front, so the weather was a cold 70 degrees. Believe that is cold for Cancun. Locals were wearing jackets. Although the 70 degree temperatures felt good to us, the wind and rain hampered our beach activities. The first three days of our vacation in Cancun was so cloudy we began to wonder what happened to the Sun in Sunny Cancun. However, the weather finally broke on the fourth day of our trip, so we rearranged our AquaWorld Tour to Isla Mujeres Boat Cruise. We were ready to experience snorkeling in the Caribbean Sea as the waves had calmed down a bit for us to attempt swimming in the sea.

This was a fitting tour for two women headed to the Island of Women during March the month of the Women's History in the U.S.A.

Why do women have an island named after them, I wondered as we sailed aboard the wildest boat trip ever? Our boat crew shared the story of the naming of the Island Women. The Mayan goddess of fertility Ixchel's sanctuary was on this 5 mile long island. The Spanish landed in 1517 to discover many women shaped idols. This is how the island got its name Isla Mujeres or the Island of Women. After that, fishermen and pirates left their women folk on Isla Mujueres for safekeeping while they sailed the high seas.

If you can't tell by the photos, we had a blast on the Island of Women - Isla de Mujeres. The pristine white sandy beach and the turquoise sea is amazingly beautiful. We soaked up the rays of sun, splashed in the warm salty sea, lounged in the hammocks, gorged on unlimited alcoholic drinks and a Mexican buffet lunch.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

This struck me as being the most unique on the Island of Women or Isla de Mujeres. I am not sure the reason that Mexico and Caribbean vacations allow the freedom of expression of hairstyles. We saw numerous men sporting blond braids. It is official "Braids" are an international cottage industry.

Is this the influence of the ancient Egyptian hairstyles repeating history or the long lasting effects of "Bo Derek" from the movie "10"? What are your thoughts?

Friday, March 16, 2012

On our return flight from Cancun, I sat between two college students from Boston who had just spent their first spring break in Cancun. They stayed at a student all-inclusive hotel named Oasis. They literally consumed copious amounts of beer and tequila for seven days. One student told me that they were drinking water for the first time in a week.

Dani and I enjoyed ourselves immensely at Senor Frog's because of the waiters, bartenders and entertainment staff. We have never experienced such a wild and entertaining bar and restaurant.

Cancun Bar

We were riding the bus in the Hotel Zone looking for Downtown Cancun, so we decided to get off the bus at the Isla Dorada Mall. There we saw the Westin Visitor's Center. My mind instantly thought coupons and discounts. We stepped in the door to start talking to theses two hot Mexicans who simply adore Dani. We mentioned it was her birthday. Birthdays are a very special celebration in Mexico. They gave Dani a 2 x 1 dinner coupon at Senor Frog's. We had also received another free dinner for two coupon to Senor Frog's Restaurant and Bar from a timeshare presentation. Anyway we partied at Senor Frog's for about four nights. Senor Frog's has games and contests for free drinks. They also give free shots and pours of tequila like water which makes them a popular party club in Cancun.

The best way to save on the restaurants and bars is to grab coupons from the Westin Visitor's Center. They are not pushy salesmen like the street hawkers near Mercado 28 or Market 28. The wristbands for the unlimited drinking packages at the Cancun bars and clubs start at about $69 USD per person. However, everything is negotiable in Mexico. So put on your bartering cap because I observed a Scottish lad bargain tickets to Coco Bongo from $65.00 per person to $41.50 for a group of eighteen college students.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Please Refrain from Standing on the Toilet Bowl as an Accident is Bound to Happen!

This is a funny Toilet Sign from Isla de Mujeres. Mexico has a many toilet signs teaching tourist the eco-friendly ways of the Mexican culture.

Forbidden to throw papers in the toilet please deposit them in the basket.

The Mexican Culture shares a profound respect for nature and protects their environment. The tourist areas are extremely clean.

Outdoor Toilet in Mexico- Basket to left to deposit paper.

This Green Ritual of depositing used toilet paper is the basket is also practiced by the locals in their homes. This is an eco-friendly toilet at Xcaret Park. These are some of the cleanest outdoor toilets in Mexico.

Push the pedal to flush the toilet with your feet.

Flushing the toilet in another country is always like playing a game of hide and seek when trying to figure out where does one flush. This flushing system for toilets is used in Xcaret Ecological Water Park. In case you are wondering, I never saw or smelled soiled paper in the baskets.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Xcaret Park is a seaside paradise. It is considered one of the most important ceremonial centers and ports of the ancient Mayan world. It will dazzle your senses with spectacular landscapes, archaeological areas, water activities and an awe inspiring day spent in nature and culture. Immerse yourself in underground rivers, discover a Coral Reef Aquarium, explore the mysticism of a Mayan Village, and admire beautiful wildlife. Experience the joy of a Mexican Celebration with a spectacular night performance with a cast of over two hundred performers.

Dani & Janice give you a view of a Cancun Beach from the Cancun Hotel Zone while waiting for the bus to Xcaret Park.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Xcaret means in Mayan "Small Inlet". Pole, ancient port from which the Maya sailed to Cozumel to worship Ixchel goddess.

Janice & Dani pose with a Mayan

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The Mayan performers are certified to be of Mayan lineage.

Our visit to Xcaret Park was the perfect way to end our trip to Cancun, Mexico. Before our visit I did not understand what Eco-Tourism meant. It is an experience to enjoy a clean, natural park in complete harmony with nature. One can swim in clear natural rivers where you see the fish and rocks from land. We saw turtles, butterflies, and iguanas in a lush jungle. The beauty of the flora and fauna are amazing. There is a corn patch where the tortilla are ground and baked fresh daily. This is truly a farm to fork dining experience at their restaurants with gourmet authentic mexican cuisine. This was one of the best buffets that I have enjoyed in Mexico. The restaurants at Xcaret are superb.

Xcaret Park has over 30 attaractions, it is impossible to see and do everything in one or two days. It is recommended to chose one or activities and be flexible. It is nature so take your time and enjoy the lush tropical surroundings. You will never get it all done. Go slow.

We have visited Disney World as a family, Xcaret Park reminded me of Disney World except better. Xcaret Park is like Coca-Coal, "the real thing". Real Mayans performing ancient rituals instead of actors. Real undergrounds rivers, lush tropical jungles, and archeological sites. If you have done Disney, then you and your family have to experience Xcaret Park. This is the ultimate family vacation that teaches educational values and appreciation of nature, as well as Mexican history and culture.

Tip: Purchase tickets to Xcaret Park from the Xcaret Office in Cancun Hotel Zone, the bus transportation is free. Xcaret Plus tickets include lunch and is the best deal. Everything else at the Park is a separate fee.

We want to thank Leo for being our guide and Experiencias Xcaret for hosting this amazing tour of Xcaret Park.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Small things make a big difference such as singing Happy Birthday in English and Spanish over a very special birthday cake. Feliz Cumpleanos a Dani from the Marriott Casamagna Staff. This was certainly the highlight and most memorable moment of Dani's Cancun Birthday celebration. This is one of the reason that I love the Marriott Hotels.

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Just a quick hello from Sunny Cancun. We are on a last minute trip to Cancun to celebrate my daughter Dani's 24th birthday. Today is her birthday. You can checkout the photos of our Cancun Celebration on Skychi Travels Facebook Fanpage.